S04.E07: Miss Taken

[Athena]

When Watson’s stepfather writes a crime novel based on her work with Holmes without her knowledge, an underlying issue in their relationship is revealed.  Also, as Holmes and Watson investigate a retired FBI agent’s murder, they discover the man’s death is connected to an unsolved case from the victim’s career.

[roseha]

I just saw a quick promo for this while watching Late Night with Stephen Colbert.  It looks like a good one, and fans of Law and Order:  CI should note that Kathryn Erbe (Detective Alexandra Eames) is in the guest cast!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know her as Bellinger on Oz, so I was sure that she was going to turn out to be a murderer or at the very least doing something super shady. I guess congratulations on faking me out with the guest star who didn't commit a crime?

 

The last time I saw the girl playing fake Mina was when she was Dylan on Parenthood. She was a great little psychopath here. I am guessing we will see more of her in future episodes when Sherlock attends her trial.

 

Joan is a nicer person than I am because if my stepfather had written a book all about me, kept it a secret, and then claimed it was because he missed me, I would have bitch slapped him into next week.

 

On a shallow note, I loved Joan's black and white dress.

Edited January 7, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Mrs OldManBalls]

Would someone be kind enough to explain to me...everything? The real vs fake Mina's? And how Holmes put it together? 

[Trey]

Would someone be kind enough to explain to me...everything? The real vs fake Mina's? And how Holmes put it together? 

Are you in Canada and you watched the show last night?  I saw the Canadian stations were showing it but thought I'd wait to watch it tonight; but now I see Global isn't showing it tonight so I'll have to stay up late (11 pm) to watch it on the US station.

[TV Anonymous]

Are you in Canada and you watched the show last night?  I saw the Canadian stations were showing it but thought I'd wait to watch it tonight; but now I see Global isn't showing it tonight so I'll have to stay up late (11 pm) to watch it on the US station.

 

As long as Survivor is not on the air, Global has Elementary on Wednesday 8/7c. In its old spot Thursday 10/9c, Global has Shades of Blue, simsub NBC. What happens when Survivor is back, who knows...

[Trey]

Thanks!  Guess I'll watch it Wednesdays from now on until it goes back to Thursday.  As long as I get to see it, it's all good:)

Edited January 8, 2016 by Trey

[minamurray78]

Would someone be kind enough to explain to me...everything? The real vs fake Mina's? And how Holmes put it together? 

What was tripping them up were the dna tests. Fake Mina passed both tests: when she first resurfaced a year before (they compared it with dna from a toothbrush from way back when the child was abducted), and then when they compared it with a sample from her father after he was imprisoned.

The toothbrush with dna from original child Mina had dissapeared, and so H&W thougth fake Mina was in cahoots with someone from the lab, who got rid of the thing and then rigged the first results.

But for the second test, the police had used a sample from a cheek swab taken from the father and sent to a trusted lab. 

For both tests, they had compared the samples with fake Mina's hair, that she had cut off her head in the gas station, when she was found.

Det. Bell thought maybe she was Mr. Davenport's child from an affair, but Sherlock realized that, in her story, fake Mina had cut her hair before the agents found her, and she had been in such a state they hadn't taken a cheek swab, they just collected the hair. So, in order for both dna tests to be positive, fake Mina must have been in contact with real Mina, and obtained her hair. 

They found real Mina by looking back for reports about a young woman being assaulted and having her hair cut off around the time fake Mina resurfaced. The whole thing about the missing toothbrush had been an honest clerical error. The story about the parents abusing and killing Mina was all fake.

Now, who knows how the impostor was able to find Mina, or learn about her story, etc. That girl was a hell of a con artist. I actually enjoyed this villain, even though she was careless in the way she disposed of a federal agent's body. 

[AimingforYoko]

Mae Whitman for the win. 

Well done, Elementary. That's how you beat the rule of the Guest Star. You have three recognizable guest stars as reasonable for the crime. I hope Cassie will be back.

 

ETA Previews: 

Looks like Bellson is a go.

Edited January 8, 2016 by AimingforYoko

[Primetimer]

Sherlock and Joan meet a cute new nemesis.

Read the story

[MdMaxx]

Whitman is not that great of an actress. The fake Mina was played by Ally Ioannides and did a wonderful job. I hope they bring her back. 

[vesperholly]

I really liked the actress who played fake Mina. She was giving me strong Winona-Ryder-in-Beetlejuice vibes.

[Slovenly Muse]

What an almost-super-great episode! The build-up to the final twist was awesome, but the conclusion? Kind of puzzling. So, this grifter who's never met Mina and doesn't know anything about her was able to find her, when the fed working himself to the bone on her case never thought to check out that sex offender on her route home? And on finding Mina, this grifter attacked her and cut off her hair, and got away undetected, so that she could pretend it was HER hair? And then killed the fed who was figuring her out? If she was willing to kill, why not kill Mina to ensure she'd never be found? And why try to snow Holmes with all that obvious "THEY did it," and "daddy touched me" stuff that she knew wouldn't hold up to investigation? And if the parents weren't trying to cover up their own crime, why didn't they have any doubt that the imposter was their daughter? And did no one in that family leave a single particle of DNA in their entire mansion that could be tested, even when taken by surprise? I feel like this episode started with a situation that didn't make sense, and then introduced a series of twists that began to explain it better and better, and just when it almost all made sense in an awesome way, the last twist reverted the whole thing back to square one and nothing made sense anymore!

 

Also, I want Kitty to come back and beat the hell out of this Cassie girl. I would pay money for that.

[roseha]

I have to say that I liked this episode but the very last scene between Sherlock and fake Mina, while a powerful finish, also gave me the creeps.  I would rather not see her come back but I have a feeling she will.

Edited January 8, 2016 by roseha

[twoods]

I thought for sure the imposter was telling the truth about the parents killing Mina because the actor who played the father has been a crazy killer on other shows. Nice twist, show. The fake Mina did look like Mae Whitman, but their acting techniques were different. The actress that played the imposter was pretty awesome and terrifying. Won't get much sleep tonight.

[GaT]

I liked the episode, but I was totally distracted by Kathryn Erbe. I'm too used to her being the cop, not the victim. I liked Cassie, I think she makes a good opponent for Holmes, I hope she shows up again.

[Kromm]

I actually quite liked this episode. More often then not this show lets me down, but I though the girl was a truly effective villain.

[johntfs]

When Ally Ioannides came to the brownstone I was sure she was going to try to kill Holmes and Watson with the butterfly shurikens she uses on Into the Badlands.

[AimingforYoko]

Well, let me give credit to the correct actress. But Damn, Ally Ionnides looks like Mae Whitman.

Edited January 8, 2016 by AimingforYoko

[Eucrid]

Ally Ioannides is also on Into the Badlands where she looks nothing like Whitman so I never thought she looked like her here either. They both have strong eyebrows but after that I don't see it.

 

Anyway Ioannides was great. I think she might just be one to watch to go on and do really big things in the future. This was a far better performance than I've seen from most young Hollywood starlets at the moment.

 

Great episode, though I don't care a whole lot about Watsons father. Hopefully that stuff pays off later.

[DeLurker]

I was squicked out that the stepdad said he wrote the book because he missed her and this was a way of feeling close to her - by writing sex scenes involving his fictionalized stepdaughter?  Ewwww!

 

I liked Fake Mina - she held up well against JLM.  There were some plotholes that were big enough to drive a bus through, like the actual kidnapper never showing up on the FBI radar when the the real Mina was taken and how Fake Mina managed to overpower and dice up a full sized man before tossing him in a wood chipper, but I'll overlook those pesky details.

[Trey]

 

Also, I want Kitty to come back and beat the hell out of this Cassie girl. I would pay money for that.

I would love to see that!  Otherwise, I hope we never see Cassie again.

 

I thought they needed a hair root, not just the hair itself, to get a DNA sample? 

[beadgirl]

 

when the fed working himself to the bone on her case never thought to check out that sex offender on her route home?

Was he a known sex offender at that time?  Or was he just one of many neighbors and local people?

 

If she was willing to kill, why not kill Mina to ensure she'd never be found?

Maybe she only killed as a last resort, once she was in danger of being found out.  At the time she attacked Mina, she may not have thought she'd ever have to kill someone.

 

And why try to snow Holmes with all that obvious "THEY did it," and "daddy touched me" stuff that she knew wouldn't hold up to investigation?

It's like Holmes said -- she was just trying to stall them for two weeks, until she had access to the trust.

 

And if the parents weren't trying to cover up their own crime, why didn't they have any doubt that the imposter was their daughter?

There have been real-life cases of people pretending to be missing children, and the family clinging to the deception despite even more obviously hinky circumstances.  It's baffling to me, but I guess the family wants so desperately to believe the child is back they overlook all manner suspicious details.

 

All this said, I am still mystified as to how she found Mina when law enforcement couldn't -- assuming she was telling the truth that she first learned about the case and got the idea for the fraud from an anniversary article.  I suppose she could have run into Mina first, figured out she was abducted, and then upon investigating learned about the wealthy family, but that seems equally improbable.

 

Also, I think she was unduly confident, with her whole "I've never committed a crime; you can't prove the murder because I have six explanations for it."  They may not be able to prove the murder, but they sure as hell can prove fraud -- her deception to the parents.  And that carries actual jail-time.  Unless she's hoping to get a suspended sentence with a sob story about a horrible childhood and wanting to belong to a loving family?

 

Regardless, she is a wonderful character, and I really hope we see her again.  Interesting, too, to compare her to Moriarty.

[Gregg247]

Too bad Joan's estrangement from her step-father wasn't because of that time, when she was a kid, that he and her Mother accidently left on a Christmas vacation without her, leaving her at the mercy of a couple of neighborhood burglars. ;)

[johntfs]

Maybe "Cassie" will turn out to be Sherlock's evil daughter from one of his sexercise sessions.

[preeya]

Was he a known sex offender at that time?  Or was he just one of many neighbors and local people?

Maybe she only killed as a last resort, once she was in danger of being found out.  At the time she attacked Mina, she may not have thought she'd ever have to kill someone.

It's like Holmes said -- she was just trying to stall them for two weeks, until she had access to the trust.

There have been real-life cases of people pretending to be missing children, and the family clinging to the deception despite even more obviously hinky circumstances.  It's baffling to me, but I guess the family wants so desperately to believe the child is back they overlook all manner suspicious details.

 

All this said, I am still mystified as to how she found Mina when law enforcement couldn't -- assuming she was telling the truth that she first learned about the case and got the idea for the fraud from an anniversary article.  I suppose she could have run into Mina first, figured out she was abducted, and then upon investigating learned about the wealthy family, but that seems equally improbable.

 

Also, I think she was unduly confident, with her whole "I've never committed a crime; you can't prove the murder because I have six explanations for it."  They may not be able to prove the murder, but they sure as hell can prove fraud -- her deception to the parents.  And that carries actual jail-time.  Unless she's hoping to get a suspended sentence with a sob story about a horrible childhood and wanting to belong to a loving family?

 

Regardless, she is a wonderful character, and I really hope we see her again.  Interesting, too, to compare her to Moriarty.

She'll be released into Sherlock's custody and he'll mentor her as he did with the bad girl from England last season(?). Her character is too good to be a one-shot deal.

[Xantar]

She'll be released into Sherlock's custody and he'll mentor her as he did with the bad girl from England last season(?). Her character is too good to be a one-shot deal.

The thing about Kitty is she wasn't a criminal. Or if she was, she wasn't a murderer. I don't think Sherlock would ever mentor a murderer who fed a law enforcement agent through a wood chipper.

I confess I was also totally taken in by the lie about the parents actually being the ones who killed Mina. It seems like just the sort of plot twist that would happen on this show. Well done, writers.

[sjohnson]

There was a true case, fictionalized in a couple of movies. I've seen one, The Chameleon with Ellen Barkin and Nick Stahl. A French guy pretended to be the kidnapped son of a family here. And the family did indeed accept him rather than give up the secret of what happened to the real son. Very, very creepy film and my only consolation is that when Hollywood fictionalizes the results may blatantly contradict reality. 

 

Given how horrifying that flick was, it was almost a light-hearted romp to end up with a Woman is Teh Devil mystery in this episode. 

 

The real mystery is whether Gregson and Bell every "solve" the bombing of the family home! I'm perversely rooting for Bell to send Sherlock up the river for it.

[thuganomics85]

Getting both Kathryn Erbe and Raphael Sbarge as the Davenports, certainly got me suspicious, but I'm not surprised that it was "Cassie" all along a.k.a. the girl from Into the Badlands. Seriously though, Ally Ioannides seems to be slowly making a name for herself lately. Thought she was really good here, and easily flipped between "damaged" and her true, creepy self. The final scene with Sherlock really seems to be setting things up for her to make a return. Either she will get off somehow due to lack of evidence or she'll get put in the same cell block with Moriarty, and then things will really get fun for Sherlock!

Fun seeing John Heard as always, but I kind of got distracted over the entire idea that Joan's stepdad wrote that book in order to hopefully bond with her and feel closer, and yet he still included a sex scene in it. I'm pretty sure the main goal was the show having a laugh over "Joan" hooking up with "Sherlock", but they really didn't think things through, did they?

I do wonder if Gregson and Bell will ever find out about Sherlock's part with the flashbang grenade.

Edited January 10, 2016 by thuganomics85

[ZoqFotPik]

 

If she was willing to kill, why not kill Mina to ensure she'd never be found?

It seemed like even though Mina was allowed to go out, she was still kept on a tight leash. So maybe Cassie couldn't isolate her long enough to kill and dispose of the body. Also, all it would have taken was for one person to see something, or find the body and her plan would fall apart. A person getting attacked and their head shaved, but be otherwise unhurt, while weird, will probably not garner too much attention from law enforcement. A body turns up and police would start looking into thing like "Who is this person?" and "What was she doing here?"  and that is all it would take for Cassie's plan to be discovered.

[whatsatool]

Sherlock and Joan meet a cute new nemesis.

http://previously.tv/elementary/elementary-introduces-a-female-as-strong-as-hell/"> Read the story

I'd like to see Sherlock try fondue.

[whatsatool]

The last time I saw the girl playing fake Mina was when she was Dylan on Parenthood. She was a great little psychopath there.

Lol

[tennisgurl]

Good on you show, because I really did not see that ending coming. I must be a total sucker, because I actually bought "Cassies" story about the parents being murderers. It seems like something this show would do, so way to play on my expectations. 

 

She was one creepy villain, and the actress was great. I agree with most people that, A. she should come back, and B. that she looks ridiculously like Mae Whitman. 

 

The case reminded me of a Law and Order SVU episode, which had a similar premise (long missing, kidnapped daughter comes home but might be a fake), as well as a YA book I read when I was a teenager called Counterfeit Son (young son of serial killer pretends to be one of his dads victims to escape him). Both ended differently though. 

[gesundheit]

That was a fun episode. Usually the case of the week bores me lately (while I enjoy the other components of the show and the writing in general), but this week the case was full of fun twists. I'm with everyone above who doesn't understand how Cassie found Mina, though we certainly don't know that her story about reading it in the papers and coming up with this idea is true -- maybe she met Mina first and realized something and worked from there. Who knows. The other semi-holes in the plot can be hand-waved for me with basic willing suspension of disbelief.

 

At first I thought the wife would come back into play since it was Kristine Nielsen, so that was good bait-and-switch.

 

That's hilarious that an author under contract can just make a few calls and be like, "I decided you need to recall every one of the books you guys paid for and distributed, my stepdaughter's grumpy that the book was inspired by her! Kay thanks bye!"

Edited January 8, 2016 by gesundheit

[roseha]

There was a true case, fictionalized in a couple of movies. I've seen one, The Chameleon with Ellen Barkin and Nick Stahl. A French guy pretended to be the kidnapped son of a family here. And the family did indeed accept him rather than give up the secret of what happened to the real son. Very, very creepy film and my only consolation is that when Hollywood fictionalizes the results may blatantly contradict reality. 

 

 

 

I've seen what I think must be the other version, the French film Olivier, Olivier, at a film festival.  I didn't remember reading at the time that it was based on a true story.  It was very creepy as well.  I did think about the film last night but chalked it up to coincidence.  Sigh.

[johntfs]

That was a fun episode. Usually the case of the week bores me lately (while I enjoy the other components of the show and the writing in general), but this week the case was full of fun twists. I'm with everyone above who doesn't understand how Cassie found Mina, though we certainly don't know that her story about reading it in the papers and coming up with this idea is true -- maybe she met Mina first and realized something and worked from there. Who knows. The other semi-holes in the plot can be hand-waved for me with basic willing suspension of disbelief.

 

At first I thought the wife would come back into play since it was Kristine Nielsen, so that was good bait-and-switch.

 

That's hilarious that an author under contract can just make a few calls and be like, "I decided you need to recall every one of the books you guys paid for and distributed, my stepdaughter's grumpy that the book was inspired by her! Kay thanks bye!"

 

The author could mention that the grumpy stepdaughter is good friends with the son of Morland Holmes who could likely destroy the publish without blinking an eye.

[minamurray78]

I think it kinda works that we don't know exactly how Cassie came up with the plan and found Mina, it adds to the  mystery of her. We don't know her real name, how old she is, or where she comes from, what she's done, and of course she's not telling anything.

She's been really stealthy in her life of crime since her fingerprints weren't on AFIS: no flashy robberies, certainly no murders, no situations were she could accidentally leave any trace of her, or grave crimes that might get the cops to sniff around her whereabouts. Fraud and conning looks more like it, sometimes victims of these crimes are too ashamed to admit how they were duped and file a report. And she's a very skilled liar.  

In my opinion, Underhill was her first kill. If he had find her out as soon as she reappeared, I think she would have fled, make a clean escape, but after a year of pretending, and being so close to cashing in the trust fund, she took a risk and killed him. It was a crime of opportunity, and sloppy; if she had disposed of his badge and ID somewhere else, rather than leave it with the body, she could have bought herself some time, maybe the two weeks left to get the trust money and disappear. 

 

I loved how very blasé Sherlock was about how much literature he has inspired: "I fascinate. This cannot be helped."

JLM is great: he doesn't sound arrogant but rather matter of fact. I wonder if I'd like the show so much if they had casted another actor in his place.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The last time I saw the girl playing fake Mina was when she was Dylan on Parenthood. She was a great little psychopath there.

Lol

Ha, talk about a hilarious typo! She was a great psychopath HERE on Elementary. I felt nothing but sympathy for her on Parenthood when Max started stalking her, creating photo montages of her, and demanding that she dump her boyfriend for him (and then I raged when Kristina praised him for this future serial killer behavior). Maybe poor Dylan got so scared/fed up that she killed Max and then ran off to the East Coast. Like an ancient warrior, killing Max imbued her with some of his essence and she turned into Cassie, the girl who couldn't empathize, and then she attacked Mina.

Seriously, one of the really sad things is that Cassie figured out where Mina was and KNEW she was being held captive but instead of helping her escape a life of abuse and imprisonment, she attacked her (further traumatizing poor Mina) so she could steal her identity.

Edited January 8, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Kromm]

Anyway Ioannides was great. I think she might just be one to watch to go on and do really big things in the future. This was a far better performance than I've seen from most young Hollywood starlets at the moment.

I think that's a real generalization. I'm not even saying it's inaccurate, just that comparing the high profile actresses to her may not be apples to apples. She's not getting cast in whatever the next young adult novel with a female lead is. Or on some teen drama on ABC Family or MTV. Or on some Disney or Nickelodeon show. I mean Parenthood was a relatively low key serious job. 

 

I think the reason the job she did here was good was that she didn't overdo it.  She didn't cackle with evil. She played it very UTR. Even when you knew she was lying, when SHE knew Holmes knew she was lying, the character played it cool. Like a true manipulator she never lost that slight distance they need to be successful. This was a villain who didn't brag, didn't really get fooled by using her own ego against her. She got beat simply because of blood evidence, and if we're being frank, because while she was a villain, and in a way a scary one, she wasn't quite enough of a monster to kill the girl and hide the body just to get her hair. She got caught because Holmes figured out how the hair could have come to her. That there was (luckily) actually some documentation of the incident (honestly that WAS luck because normally with these kidnapped girls who are reprogrammed by their kidnappers and "let out" for errands, they'd also be trained to never let anyone notice them).  And finally that the girl was alive (because if our baddie had been THAT crazy and committed she would have taken the girl to the woods, dumped the body, and a connection perhaps would never have been made).

[torqy]

JLM is great: he doesn't sound arrogant but rather matter of fact. I wonder if I'd like the show so much if they had casted another actor in his place.

Before this series, I remember reading various reviews stating that Jeremy Brett's Sherlock was the most faithful to the Sherlock of the books, and I would have agreed.

If we could combine JLM and JB it would be fantastic. Having said that, I really like JLM's work on this show.

[jhlipton]

Also, I want Kitty to come back and beat the hell out of this Cassie girl. I would pay money for that.

 

 I double that notion.

 

I loved how very blasé Sherlock was about how much literature he has inspired: "I fascinate. This cannot be helped."

JLM is great: he doesn't sound arrogant but rather matter of fact. I wonder if I'd like the show so much if they had casted another actor in his place.

 

"My cases have been portrayed in various media"... including this one!  

[Clanstarling]

Fun seeing John Heard as always, but I kind of got distracted over the entire idea that Joan's stepdad wrote that book in order to hopefully bond with her and feel closer, and yet he still included a sex scene in it.  I'm pretty sure the main goal was the show having a laugh over "Joan" hooking up with "Sherlock", but they really didn't think things through, did they?

That, and the fact that he greeted his semi-estranged step-daughter with "beautiful as always" - which just seems creepy from a dad. I had a moment when I thought this would be a "very special episode" about Joan's childhood.

[mirrorrim]

My guess is Irene Adler is fake Mina's mentor somehow. I think Irene set up the con, and fake Mina is just a really good liar.

[Abra]

Wow, this was such a good episode. Ally Ioannides was great (she's only 17/18??), and now thanks to this thread I am also totally on board with "Cassie"  becoming Moriarty's protege.

 

I kept thinking that Fauxmina and Realmina were both kidnapped and held hostage together, and that's how everything came about. Oh well - I tried.

 

Jonny Lee Miller and his Sherlock facial expressions provide neverending amusement.

[sinkwriter]

One thing I'm still confused about is that I thought Sherlock said something about how the real Mina (and her kidnapper) did not recognize pictures of the fake Mina. How is that possible? I can see the kidnapper guy never being in contact with her, but didn't the fake Mina hold down the real Mina and shave her head? Wouldn't that be enough for the real Mina to be able to identify the fake one as her attacker?

[possibilities]

I figure fake Mina wore a disguise, like a ski mask or something like that. Or she came up behind real Mina, blindfolded her, and shaved her without allowing a good look. She also could have knocked her out, so real Mina was unconscious when the assault happened.

Edited January 9, 2016 by possibilities

[Athena]

A throwaway line that I particularly liked was that Joan mentioned Sherlock and her stepfather meeting at "Aunt Vivian's funeral." I think it's adorable that Joan and/or her mother Mary consider Sherlock family enough to have him at funerals. Really lovely and nice to think about Sherlock being part of the family.

[Kromm]

My guess is Irene Adler is fake Mina's mentor somehow. I think Irene set up the con, and fake Mina is just a really good liar.

IMO that would just be gilding the lily. I think this works fine on the level we saw it happen on and it would take away from it to insist the girl wasn't that clever or dangerous on her own and had to have some other mastermind behind her.

[Sakura12]

I think that's a real generalization. I'm not even saying it's inaccurate, just that comparing the high profile actresses to her may not be apples to apples. She's not getting cast in whatever the next young adult novel with a female lead is. Or on some teen drama on ABC Family or MTV. Or on some Disney or Nickelodeon show. I mean Parenthood was a relatively low key serious job. 

The Ally Ioannides is one of the stars in Into The Badlands. It's a completely different role than she did here. She was great here. I could definitely see Moriarty taking an interest in her and maybe helping her get away with it. Or she could already be working for her. The fact that she peaks Sherlock's interest is reason enough for either.

With the Joan's father part, he's trying to feel close to his daughter by writing about her having sex with the man she works with an lives with? That's a little to close for my taste.

[juliet73]

I enjoyed this episode but I was distracted because I believe they borrowed the story from the documentary "The Imposter". If you haven't seen it, watch it. It's so bizarre!! This episode will be less confusing if you watch the documentary. I do hope fake Mina returns, she was crazy brilliant.